Bob Martinez

Robert "Bob" Martinez (born December 25, 1934 in Tampa, Florida) was the fortieth governor of Florida from 1987 to 1991.. Prior to that, he was the mayor of Tampa from 1979 to 1986. The grandson of Spanish immigrants, Martinez received a bachelor's degree from the University of Tampa and went on to earn a master's in labor and industrial relations from the University of Illinois. In the late 1960s, Martinez returned to Tampa to teach. Martinez be... more

Robert "Bob" Martinez (born December 25, 1934 in Tampa, Florida) was the fortieth governor of Florida from 1987 to 1991.. Prior to that, he was the mayor of Tampa from 1979 to 1986. The grandson of Spanish immigrants, Martinez received a bachelor's degree from the University of Tampa and went on to earn a master's in labor and industrial relations from the University of Illinois. In the late 1960s, Martinez returned to Tampa to teach. Martinez became involved in the Hillsborough County Classroom Teachers Association, the local teacher's union, and was named the executive director of the HCTA in 1966. In 1968, the Hillsborough CTA supported the Florida Education Association's call for a state wide teacher resignation in support of more education funding and collective bargaining rights for teachers. Though the labor action was seemingly unsuccessful in the short term, it eventually set the stage for better salaries and better relations between teachers and the state. Martinez ran... less